Watercolours with Confidence: Glass and Reflections

Explore artist quality paints from brands like Winzer Newton, Daniel Smith, DaVinci, and Holbein, noting packaging and tube sizes, and experiment with available colors to find what you like.

Learn how watercolor transparency, from transparent to semi-transparent, semi-opaque, and opaque pigments, governs light in layers, and test pigment opacity to guide using transparent colors for glass and reflections.

Explore using transparent pigments to paint glass and reflections, noting how transparent colors layer without lifting, create glowing light through the page, and mimic stained glass.

Choose absorbent brushes; natural hair holds more water and requires less reloading, while synthetic brushes are stiffer and crisper; mix natural hair, synthetic, and hacky brushes for handling large washes.

Choose high-quality watercolor paper like Arches 140 lb (300 gsm) or higher, cold press, 100% cotton, and rip sheets to size to master wet-in-wet and layering techniques.

Discover how masking fluid protects highlights and layers when painting glass and reflections, choose tinted or colorless masks, and apply with brushes, ruling pens, color shapers, or stylists.

Explore masking fluid techniques for a dragonfly design, testing brushes, ruling pens, color shapers, and stylus to create crisp lines and vibrant color with careful removal after drying.

Create a wet-paper graded wash using spring green and green-blue tones, building a light-to-dark background with feathering and gravity. Manage water to avoid puddles and blossoms.

Explore the dry on dry watercolor technique to create crisp twig lines and a transparent glass heart illusion, using thicker paint, dry paper, layered shadows, and subtle refraction.

Learn two blending techniques for watercolor: apply pigment to dry paper and pull water beneath for a soft edge; or wet the area first for a softer look.

Lift masking fluid gently with a masking tool remover to reveal the highlights, ensuring the paper is dry and avoiding scrubbing or tearing.

Photograph glass objects using strong natural light, especially morning golden light from east-facing windows, vary perspectives, and explore table shadows and background reflections to reveal intriguing shapes.

Explore core concepts and art terms, with a downloadable list in resources. See how these terms overlap with other courses and apply the core concepts to the transparent glass project.

Explore value as the driver of depth and drama in watercolor, using value scales, value maps, and black-and-white references to simplify scenes and preserve highlights.

Learn that colors have a natural value on a value scale, with orange, green, and purple at specific levels, and use inversions, strips, and iPhone photos to judge value.

Explore how transparency and layering alter value in watercolor. Keep layers thin and dry, and use a soft brush to prevent lifting while colors darken on overlap.

Learn to turn a light-blue circle into a three-dimensional sphere by watercolor shading, using masking and wet-on-wet layering to build local color, cast shadows, and reflected light.

Master shading with a single direct light source, then see how moving light alters shadow length, crispness, and value on basic shapes like sphere, cube, cylinder, pyramid, and comb.

Mask highlights to separate shapes and emphasize the value scale with a dotted-line template. Wet the surface and apply a background wash in Icewind Delain yellow, working quickly.

Apply a light version of background color to the object to depict reflected light beneath the shadow, feathering the edge to soften transitions and harmonize the form with the background.

Paint the whole shape with four premixed colors as the local color, including the shadow, using wet-on-wet to build value, with red and green as complementary hues.

Mask highlights, lay background, and apply lasering crimson to shadows on four objects to achieve deep yet soft transitions with crisp top edges; lift with paper towels and glycerin reflections.

Refine glass and reflections in watercolor by layering thick paint, controlling water, and sharpening shadow edges to create subtle reflected light and crisp, dimensional forms.

Learn how value and shading create form in watercolors by painting shadows, reflected light, and three-dimensional shapes such as cylinders and spheres, with techniques for glass and reflections projects.

Discover how light travels as particles and waves, with photons strongest near the source and fading as it spreads, revealing form through highlights and shadows on a subdivided sphere.

Light travels straight until absorption, reflection, or refraction bends it; glass and mirrors reflect more light, while transparent or opaque materials shape shadows.

Explore local color as the main color of an object, using a blue bottle as an example, then layer colors to build shapes before a unifying wash.

Discover how color temperature shapes depth in watercolor by comparing cool blues and purples with warm reds, yellows, and oranges, and test this with a color chart.

Keep colors bright and high key by using single pigment colors, glazing, and analogous hues to avoid mud, while avoiding complementary or multi-pigment mixes.

Begin the underpainting with pale blue to capture blue reflections beside yellow and preserve light areas. Use wet-on-wet blending and edge control to suggest glass and reflections.

Master a yellow underpainting to vary value and create glassy reflections, managing water on each area and blending transparent yellow with blue for subtle greens.

Deepen warm values in the glass scene by glazing with Carnochan and gold, balancing light and dark areas, softening edges, and subtly revealing wood grain.

Discover how to mask the golden layer in watercolor painting using masking fluid to preserve crisp shapes, keep colors from muddling, and accelerate painting while building on existing patterns.

Practice building deep glass reflections with a dark purple wash, using strategic water application and layered hard and soft edges to sculpt form, light, and detail.

Apply a warm wash of Canaccord on sienna with water to blend shadows and colors across the piece, avoiding the bottle cap and damp areas, then let it dry.

Develop cork and bottle texture with an impressionistic approach, using dotted colors, wet brushing, and selective lightening. Blend and soften edges to unify the bottle's patterns and reflections.

Paint the background with warm brown, building darker values to define edges and contrast the bottle cap. Emphasize value over exact color and blend edges by letting wet paint travel.

Learn to paint a glassy wood tabletop using wet-in-wet techniques, blending permanent rose with greens, layering pinks and blues, and creating depth and reflections.

Refine the cork shape by using light watercolor pencil and white crayon to mark changes, lift with water, then apply a darker layer while preserving edges and the value relationship.

Create a dramatic sepia background wash by mixing dark browns and sienna, layering thick color over the bottle and shadowed tabletop, while preserving edges with negative painting and selective lifting.

Apply a dark brown to build the table shadow near the bottle, then lift and soften to deepen contrast, with a hint of purple on the top of the table.

Intensify blue shadows on the bottle by wetting the shadow, applying Miss Windsor Blue, and feathering the color while tilting the paper for soft edges and a crisp front edge.

Lighten a dark watercolor line by selective lifting with a wet area, concentrate near the bottle, reapply brown, and add purple to deepen the table top.

Remove masking fluid from multiple layers to reveal final details and color pops in a glass and reflections watercolor painting, highlighting the benefits of layering masking fluid.

Apply a dark purple layer over the background, using masking, tilting, and feathering to control value, shadows, and edges for cohesive glassy reflections.

Deepen table and bottle shadows by softly applying sienna and orange, preserving highlights to avoid mud from blue and orange, while keeping a glow along the painted edges.

Apply lilac and limited turquoise to build texture in the glass bottle, balance shadows with purple, and refine edges to reveal interlocking puzzle-like highlights.

Explore turquoise as an opaque accent to define shapes, add subtle pops, and balance with bright, transparent colors while refining highlights with lilac and careful layering.

Intensify the bottle with permanent rose in transition areas, blend edges to avoid hard lines, lift highlights, and introduce blue tones for shadow and glowing radiance.

Darken the shadow area with Winzer Blue to deepen and cool the edges, creating distance from the bottle, while softly transitioning with controlled water for a center glow.

Experiment with water on the brush to lift and blend colors, softening transitions on a glass bottle while reinforcing contour edges and turning the form with light reflections.

Apply a cut-down Mr Clean Magic Eraser to lift lightness and refine highlights on the bottle, emphasizing wing shapes and a head shape.

Follow the artist’s process from blue bottle reference photos to a value study and a transferable template on watercolor paper, mapping lights, sparkles, and landmarks.

Mask out areas with masking fluid to preserve whites and create a barrier between paint and paper. Vary shapes and sizes for interest, and avoid hard lines for soft transitions.

Master wet-on-wet underpainting to warm the background and make blue bottles pop, using Aussie red gold, sienna, brown, and purple to build smooth transitions and crisp bottle edges.

Underpaint the front bottle with a faint blue wash using Windsor blue and ultramarine, mix with gum arabic, and build crisp, transparent layers to emphasize glass.

Advance the underpainting of a rear bottle in watercolor, using ultramarine blue and purple to shape light and shadow, test colors, and build the glass and reflection.

Master underpainting techniques for a table top by layering transparent watercolors, creating a realistic table top and its reflection with Aussie red gold and careful edge control.

Reinforce the background layer with controlled water washes to create a smooth, blended backdrop. Use edges and brushes to deepen color, avoid blooms, and keep bottle edges crisp.

Develop watercolor techniques for glass and reflections by applying warm backgrounds and a second wash on the table top to create contrast with dark bottles.

Blend warm color into the rear bottle to tie it to the warm background, using soft edges and light touches along the neck.

Add warmth to the left bottle with sienna on light areas and soften edges. Dry-brush Windsor blue for the front bottle to increase contrast and avoid muddy orange and blue.

Darken the area behind the bottle to deepen the table illusion, layering purple and Winzer Blue with soft water transitions, then reinforce the shadow through dry brushing.

Refine glass and reflections with watercolor by layering, masking removal, and precise edge control to build depth, drama, and crisp highlights on front bottles and table shadows via careful glazing.

Apply a very thin Windsor blue glaze to the front bottle to unify colors while preserving underlying detail. Use a gentle, generous wash and lift overruns with a clean towel.

Learn how to create a unifying wash to blend colors on a bottle, using extra water to soften edges and a touch of purple and ultramarine blue.

Apply manganese blue to highlight edges to smooth them and separate the bottles. Use dry-on-wet techniques and glaze to refine edges, shift bottle shapes, and enhance reflections.

Apply finishing touches to a glass bottle by softening hard edges, glazing for grounding, and refining highlights and reflections with feathering, lifting, and selective blues like manganese and ultramarine.

Complete two transparent class projects by turning a reference image into pencil drawing to study shapes and values, then apply line drawing and thin glazes to build blue tones.